Steve Lawson playing Servant Jazz Quarters, London 18 April with support from Tom Herbert (double bass/effects) and Minus Pilots (electric bass/drums)
Facebook event page - https://www.facebook.com/events/274739173195153/
Tickets - https://store.championversion.com/merch/ticket-to-steve-lawson-x-tom-herbert-x-minus-pilots-18-april-2019
Steve Lawson - Beat-infused electronica, post-rock, ambient-jazz, solo bass, Steve Lawson is the UK’s most celebrated solo bassist. Steve spends a lot of his time making ambient atmospheres and emotive sounds with hip-hop tendancies making the eventual hybrid of jazz, electronica and ambient.
Tom Herbert - A bass player in Mercury Music Prize nominated bands The Invisible and Polar Bear, as well as vocal/double bass duo Moats & Thrones. He was also was a founding member of the British jazz-punk band Acoustic Ladyland. Tom is also currently on the teaching staff at The Royal Academy of Music.
Minus Pilots - percussionist Matt Pittori and bassist Adam Barringer. Touching the realms of modern classical, cinematic, post-rock, ambient and post-jazz, they weave sparse textures, crumbling atmospheres and fractured drones. Minus Pilots have performed in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Dublin, London, Milan, New York and Paris.

This is absolutely the case. I really think that unless you're almost 100% certain with the spec you'd want and you're fussy, it's probably best to avoid a custom altogether.
I do, however, think my fourth attempt is going to be right... well I hope!

The pickup positions were my decision but they’re not ununusal. I just should have had the bridge pickup a little closer to the bridge than I did.
And the chambering means the tone is warmer than I wanted. For a lot of people, this bass would be just fine but I like the jazz bass snap.

One mistake was having the bass chambered and the other mistake was the pickup positioning.
I placed too much importance on the weight of the instrument and didn't give enough consideration to the impact it'd have on the sound.
The pickup positioning is more an annoyance I suppose.
I live and learn and it was completely my fault.

When I think about it, the set we play is actually relatively similar to my solo set. It's just a lot heavier in places because of the dynamics and general options that a drummer gives you. So you could develop a solo set while looking out for a drummer who could come in and compliment what you're doing. If you find someone, then great, but if you don't, then there isn't anybody holding up your progress and annoying you.

It really is a tricky one with custom builds. I've commissioned three of them so far and while I'm getting closer, the latest one was finished in September 2018 and there are two "mistakes" that I made. I'm now speaking with the builder about a fourth (and hopefully the final) new build.

Leave it mate.
It's not our ideal set up but a drummer and I play in a drums/bass duo. We only rely on each other now. And while it'd be nice to get a guitarist in (we play ambient/post-rock stuff) it's just not worth the agro because of all those reasons you've listed above.